Strasbourg, 05.11.2006 – René van der Linden, President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), today made the following statement:

“The crimes committed by Saddam Hussein are appalling, and it is right that he be judged and punished for them. But today’s sentence of the death penalty sends a dangerous message to the region: that the new Iraq is to be built on vengeance rather than respect for fundamental human values. Iraq today does not need more death. Capital punishment is wrong – even for the worst crimes – and I appeal to the Iraqi authorities not to carry out this sentence.”

The death penalty is not carried out in the 46 nations of the Council of Europe.